THEDOWJONESISDOWN15POINTSANDTHISBITCHREFUSESTOFWM!!

How do Shakespeare’s timeless themes translate to the South Asian diaspora? Could the man from Stratford himself be reimagined as a meddling auntie? Novelist Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Were an Auntie trilogy takes on this challenge, taking inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night to create contemporary romance novels set in the vibrant, close-knit world of the South Asian community.

Sharma’s books explore love, identity, and social norms through characters navigating family expectations and community dynamics. These playful and poignant adaptations highlight Shakespeare’s enduring relevance while addressing modern issues like gender expectations and cultural identity.

This episode explores Sharma’s creative process, her lifelong love for Shakespeare, and her approach to blending the playwright’s timeless themes with modern romance. From chaotic weddings to sharp banter, her novels reflect the humor and humanity of Shakespeare’s work while offering fresh perspectives for today’s readers.

Nisha Sharma is the critically acclaimed author of YA and adult contemporary romances including My So-Called Bollywood Life, Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance, The Singh Family Trilogy, and the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. Her books have been included in best-of lists by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, and more.   She lives in Pennsylvania with her Alaskan husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett, and her dogs Nancey Drew and Madeline.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published January 28, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the Executive Producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Nisha Sharma on Adapting Shakespeare for Modern Romances

What if Gertrude had more power than we thought? What if Ophelia’s fate wasn’t sealed from the start? And what does it really mean to mother a prince who might be losing his mind?

Playwright Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced living playwrights in America, takes on Hamlet in her latest play, A Room in the Castle. This sharp, feminist reimagining follows Ophelia, her handmaid, and Queen Gertrude as they navigate the dangers of Elsinore, wrestling with the weight of survival, duty, and defiant hope in the face of chaos.

Gunderson, known for her witty and powerful storytelling in The Book of Will and The Half-Life of Marie Curie, discusses how she reclaims the voices of Hamlet‘s women, why Gertrude’s famous speech about Ophelia’s drowning might not be as simple as it seems, and how she crafted new ending that brings new light to Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy.

>> Get your tickets to Folger Theatre’s A Room in the Castle, a co-production with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, on stage March 4 – April 6



Lauren Gunderson on the Women of Hamlet

How does Shakespeare’s King Lear resonate in a world facing climate catastrophe? Novelist Julia Armfield explores this question in Private Rites, a novel set in a near-future London reshaped by rising sea levels. Following three sisters grappling with their father’s death, Private Rites weaves together themes of inheritance, power, and familial wounds—echoing Shakespeare’s tragic monarch while carving out a distinctly modern, queer perspective.

Armfield, author of Our Wives Under the Sea, discusses her fascination with disaster narratives, the inescapable dynamics of sibling relationships, and how Shakespeare’s work inspires her storytelling. From the storm in King Lear to the watery depths of her fiction, she reflects on how queerness, horror, and the climate crisis intersect in literature.

Julia Armfield is a fiction writer living in London with her wife and cat. Her work has been published in Granta, The White Review, and Best British Short Stories in 2019 and 2021. In 2019, she was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. She was longlisted for the Deborah Rogers Award in 2018 and won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2018 and a Pushcart Prize in 2020. She is the author of salt slow, a collection of short stories, which was longlisted for the Polari Prize in 2020 and the Edge Hill Prize in 2020. Her debut novel, Our Wives Under The Sea,  was shortlisted for the Foyles Fiction Book of the Year Award in 2022 and won the Polari Prize in 2023. Her second novel, Private Rites, was longlisted for the inaugural Climate Fiction Prize in 2024.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published March 11, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Julia Armfield Reimagines King Lear in a Drowning World

Sounds & Sweet Airs - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
'Richard II'
Act 1

Called upon to adjudicate a fierce war of words and accusations between Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, King Richard II orders a trial by combat. However, when the day of decision arrives, he settles upon a means of punishment that will challenge his very sovereignty...

CAST
King Richard - Andrew Peter Shaw
Bolingbroke - Rhydian Sendall
John of Gaunt - Andrew Faber
Duke of York - Philip Donnelly
Thomas Mowbray - Gareth Johnson
Duke of Aumerle - Helen Tamlyn
Duchess of Gloucester - Christine Garvey

CREW
Writer - William Shakespeare
Producer / Director - Dario Knight
Sound Engineers - Stephan Medhurst & Gareth Johnson
Music - John Bjork

'Richard II' (Act 1)

Sounds & Sweet Airs - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
'Richard II'
Act 2

John of Gaunt is nearing the end of his life, but his final breaths hold a stinging tirade for Richard's reign. Unfazed, the king seizes Bolingbroke's inheritance to fund his war in Ireland, unaware that the challenger to his throne has returned to raise an army...

CAST
King Richard - Andrew Peter Shaw
Bolingbroke - Rhydian Sendall
John of Gaunt - Andrew Faber
Duke of York - Philip Donnelly
Earl of Northumberland - Kati Herbert
Duke of Aumerle - Helen Tamlyn
Queen of England - Filipa Garrido
Henry Percy - Caspia Huntington-Davies 
Lord Ross - Gareth Johnson
Green - Jacki Dann
Bushy - John North
Bagot - Chris Barnett

CREW
Writer - William Shakespeare
Producer / Director - Dario Knight
Sound Engineers - Stephan Medhurst & Gareth Johnson
Music - John Bjork

'Richard II' (Act 2)

Sounds & Sweet Airs - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
'Richard II'
Act 3

Richard returns to the shores of his kingdom, only to discover the extent of Bolingbroke's return to favour with the public. Sheltering in a castle, the king soon meets with the Earl of Northumberland, who outlines Bolingbroke's demands...

CAST
King Richard - Andrew Peter Shaw
Bolingbroke - Rhydian Sendall
Duke of York - Philip Donnelly
Earl of Northumberland - Kati Herbert
Queen of England - Filipa Garrido
Duke of Aumerle - Helen Tamlyn
Duchess of York - Jacki Dann
Henry Percy - Caspia Huntington-Davies 
Bishop of Carlisle - Christine Garvey
Bagot - Chris Barnett
Gardener - Andrew Faber
Servant - Gareth Johnson

CREW
Writer - William Shakespeare
Producer / Director - Dario Knight
Sound Engineers - Stephan Medhurst & Gareth Johnson
Music - John Bjork

'Richard II' (Act 3)

Sounds & Sweet Airs - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
'Richard II'
Act 4

His forces defeated and his allies fled, Richard faces the unthinkable. Under the watchful eye of York and Northumberland, the King of England prepares to yield his crown...

CAST
King Richard - Andrew Peter Shaw
Bolingbroke - Rhydian Sendall
Duke of York - Philip Donnelly
Earl of Northumberland - Kati Herbert
Bishop of Carlisle - Christine Garvey

CREW
Writer - William Shakespeare
Producer / Director - Dario Knight
Sound Engineers - Stephan Medhurst & Gareth Johnson
Music - John Bjork

'Richard II' (Act 4)

Interview zur Inszenierung WAS IHR WOLLT von William Shakespeare mit Regisseur Simon Werdelis für coloRadio

Mehr zur Inszenierung:
www.staatsschauspiel-dresden.de/was-ihr-wollt/

Interview zu WAS IHR WOLLT mit Regisseur Simon Werdelis für coloRadio

Sounds & Sweet Airs - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
'Richard II'
Act 5

Whilst Henry IV begins his reign, the fallen Richard languishes in prison. However, a conspiracy against the new king's life soon poses a deadly threat to the man he deposed...

CAST
King Richard - Andrew Peter Shaw
Bolingbroke - Rhydian Sendall
Duke of York - Philip Donnelly
Earl of Northumberland - Kati Herbert
Queen of England - Filipa Garrido
Duke of Aumerle - Helen Tamlyn
Duchess of York - Jacki Dann
Lord Ross - Gareth Johnson
Keeper - Caspia Huntington-Davies 

CREW
Writer - William Shakespeare
Producer / Director - Dario Knight
Sound Engineers - Stephan Medhurst & Gareth Johnson
Music - John Bjork

'Richard II' (Act 5)

Home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare materials. Advancing knowledge and the arts. Discover it all at www.folger.edu. Shakespeare turns up in the most interesting places—not just literature and the stage, but science and social history as well. Our "Shakespeare Unlimited" podcast explores the fascinating and varied connections between Shakespeare, his works, and the world around us.

Welcome to the Unbound Theatre Podcast!

Here you’ll find the latest audio projects from award-winning storytelling company Unbound Theatre, presented by (and based at) Queens Park Arts Centre.

The podcast spans all manner of titles, including AudioVerse Award winner (Best Storyteller – Erika Sanderson) ‘The Chronicles of Professor Chronomier’, sleuthing sitcom ‘Inspector Murder Inspects…’ and our epic ‘Sounds & Sweet Airs’ project, which aims to bring the complete works of Shakespeare to the airwaves.

There’s also plenty of behind-the-scenes content, additional audio drama series, audiobooks, poetry, panel games, and more! We’re here to Tell Great Stories, and we’ve plenty of them to choose from!

Discover more about Unbound’s work across audio, theatre, and film at www.unboundtheatre.co.uk.

Das Staatsschauspiel Dresden ist das größte sächsische Sprechtheater und bespielt zwei Häuser. Das Schauspielhaus in der Altstadt hat einen nach historischem Vorbild renovierten Zuschauerraum mit 800 Plätzen. Das Kleine Haus in der Neustadt verfügt über insgesamt vier Spielstätten mit einer Kapazität von 100 bis 400 Plätzen. Das Staatsschauspiel Dresden bringt jährlich 25 Premieren heraus, hat ein umfangreiches Repertoire und erreicht mit über 850 Vorstellungen 250.000 Besucher im Jahr. Es gehört zu den am besten besuchten Häusern Deutschlands, Einladungen zu Festivals und Auszeichnungen zeugen von überregionaler Resonanz. Neben den großen Klassikern stehen Inszenierungen zeitgenössischer Dramatik, Uraufführungen und Festivals auf dem Programm.

New tracks tagged #William Shakespeare